White testified there was no indication of a “bi-polar mood” when he talked with Laguna. White confirmed that in July 2005, the Federal Drug Administration placed a black box warning on Celexa, that “bad things can happen when taking this medication.”

White said if he had known about the dangers of SSRIs when he prescribed an anti-depressant for Laguna in November, he would have screened Laguna’s family history more closely.

He said SSRIs are generally not prescribed for people with bi-polar disorders.

If a doctor suspects a bi-polar disorder, he should caution his patient to be alert to sudden changes in moods, particularly any sudden changes in a perceived need for sleep, White said. “He should be alert to any changes in behavior, compulsiveness, rapid mood switches.”

Asked about the earlier general warning on SSRIs, White noted, “Inherent in treating depression, there is a possibility of mood switches.” He said that changed in 2005 when the warning became more specific — restlessness, aggressiveness, nervous response, severe agitation.

Jury finds man guilty of second-degree homicide — (Duluth Superior)

Associated Press

HURLEY, Wis. – A jury convicted a man Friday night of second-degree intentional homicide in the shooting of his estranged wife, after the defense contended the antidepressant drugs he was given put him in a psychotic state leading up to the killing.

Mark Laguna, 42, of Pence, was charged originally with first-degree intentional homicide in the shooting of his wife, Brenda, on a Hurley street March 16, 2005. Authorities said he drove to town, waited for her, rammed the back of her vehicle and then shot her.

Circuit Judge Neal Nielsen III gave the jury options of finding him guilty or not guilty of first-degree or second-degree intentional homicide.

In closing arguments, Iron County District Attorney Marty Lipske called the shooting death “the ultimate case of domestic violence.”

He said the victim had been concerned about how her husband would react to the divorce, and she obtained a restraining order against him.

“Her fears were real and her worst nightmare became reality,” Lipske said.

He said evidence suggested Laguna had both a good, public side and a dark side – “the side he wouldn’t give out to anybody else because if he told anyone things were escalating, rage building, anyone on the outside would have stopped him.”

Public defender Fred Bourg cited testimony of Laguna’s psychiatrist that psychotic people can make choices and make plans, but “none of it makes sense. Normal people wouldn’t do that.”

He said other testimony showed Laguna suffered from an undiagnosed bipolar disease with psychotic features, and the antidepressant drugs he was prescribed made his condition worse.

“Marketing and sales of these drugs are ahead of science, being pushed on us by drug companies,” Bourg said. “Anyone that knew that Mark Laguna was bipolar wouldn’t have given him these drugs. That is how he got to the dark side.”

Laguna ordered to serve 25 years in prison — (Ironwood Daily Globe)

Published Sunday, September 24, 2006 5:29:58 PM Central Time

By MARGARET LEVRA, Globe Staff Writer

HURLEY — Mark Laguna, 42, of Pence, Wis, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison, followed by 10 years of extended supervision for killing his wife.

“You committed a terrible act and did it intentionally,” Vilas County Circuit Court Judge Neal Nielsen III told Laguna. “I do not believe you were psychotic. Someone with your intelligence must have recognized the signs and you should have asked for help.”

Nielsen said the six-man, six-woman jury that found Laguna guilty of second-degree intentional homicide in early May was led away from a first-degree intentional homicide conviction only because of testimony of his significant psychotic condition at the time he shot his wife, Brenda, 42, as she was running down Fifth Avenue in Hurley.

Nielsen said he believes Laguna was experiencing a manic episode, “but not psychotic.” He noted “well documented mental illness.”

He applied those elements to the Laguna case. All the aspects of domestic violence existed.

“Was this a domestic violence case? Nielsen asked. “Yes,” he replied.

“There is also no question that he (Laguna) suffered from mental illness. It was recurrent,” Nielsen said.

He said the drug regimen Laguna was on played some role in the crime.

During the trial, public defender Fred Bourg claimed the medication Laguna was taking left him in psychotic decompensation. He said Laguna suffers from a bi-polar disorder and was taking Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors for treatment of his depression.

A person with a bi-polar disorder taking SSRIs can become psychotic, he said, noting the Federal Drug Administration issued a black box warning on Celexa, one of the drugs Laguna was taking, in July, 2005, months after the March 16, 2005 shooting.

In May, psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Burrows, from Ashland, who was treating Laguna, said Laguna “felt as if he was watching the episode from two feet behind.” That’s called depersonalization, one of the many symptoms of mania, Burrows said.

She testified Laguna’s psychotic state was brought on by his taking the inhibitors.

She also diagnosed Laguna with having a bi-polar disorder.

Laguna “could not appreciate the wrongfullness of what he was doing,” Burrows testified.

She reiterated her statements by telephone on Friday, when several witnesses testified during the eight-and one-half hour sentencing session.

In noting that Laguna suffered from a mental illness and was placed on medication for it, Nielsen said, “The problem with that is that follow-up was not with the same doctor.”

He noted Laguna continued to receive medication from nurse practitioner Michelle Harma.

In defense of Harma, Nielsen said, “They are people working with the best information they have in a rural community.”

He said, “Changing any medication should have been done under the supervision of a physician.”